Never Is An Awfully Long Time
by maim5295
Summary: Sharona saves Randy on a case. Will it lead to happily ever after?
1. Chapter 1: The Case

Disclaimer: I own none of this except the plot, which if I stole from anyone without knowing it, sorry, it's yours.

A/N: This is my first fic so please tell me what you think!

Chapter 1: The Case 

Captain Stottlemeyer and Lt. Disher were finishing up at the crime scene when Monk and Sharona arrived. There had been a robbery at the jewelry store which resulted in the death of the owner, who hadn't wanted to give up his jewels. Unfortunately, the thief wasn't an amateur and he disabled the security systems including the cameras. He had, however, left a fingerprint.

Unbeknownst to the four inside the building, the officers outside the building had disappeared. Suddenly, a masked man appeared in the door and pulled a gun. He quickly aimed at Randy, and just as he was about to shoot Sharona jumped towards Randy and pushed him out of the way. As Sharona landed on top of Randy on the floor, Captain Stottlemeyer quickly pulled his gun and shot the masked man in the shoulder. The captain quickly checked to make sure Randy and Sharona were alright then walked to the masked man and pulled of his mask.

As Randy reluctantly got up and gave Sharona a hand up, he noticed the masked man and suddenly got a very angry look on his face. The captain was a bit confused at this and said, "Randy, what's wrong...other than the fact that this guy just tried to kill you?" to which Randy replied, "How would you feel if your brother took a shot at you?" Then Randy walked to the man who had shot him and asked, "When'd you get out of prison Steve?"

Later, at the station, while the captain and Monk talked to Steve Disher, Sharon and Randy talked. "So are you older or younger?" Sharon asked him to break the ice. "Younger, by 3 years." replied Randy. There was a moment of silence, which surprisingly wasn't entirely uncomfortable. "Thanks...for saving me earlier today." Randy said while remembering Sharon landing on top of him, which brought a smile to his face. "You would have done the same thing for me." she replied. This brought another smile to his face as he again recalled that afternoon.

He looks at her then nervously asks, "I know you would never go out with me, but would you let me take you out just as a thank you sometime?" Then, as Sharona gets up to leave, she says to Randy, "You know what Randy, I think I'll take you up on that offer...and never, is an awfully long time." --- (took that from Peter Pan the movie) ---As she exits she notices Randy's reflection in a mirror, he looks happier than she has ever seen him.

A/N: Please review!!!!!!!


	2. Chapter 2: The Date

Chapter 2: The Date

Later that afternoon, the phone rings in the Fleming house. Benjy answers the phone with a, "Hello?" and Randy, who is on the other end answers with, "Hi. Is Sharona home?". "Maybe, whose calling?" replies Benjy? "Randy.", says Randy. "Hang on, I'll get her.", Benny replies. "MOM! Some guy named Randy is on the phone." yells Benjy, who sees his mom smile before going to find the cordless phone. "She smiled when I told her who was on the phone." Benjy relays to Randy, who also smiles. Then Sharona's voice is heard from another phone, "Hi Randy."

With this Benjy goes in search of his friend Max, who is going bowling with them as soon as Sharona gets off the phone. While Benjy finds Max, the following is taking place on the phone. "So I was wondering when I could get that date you said you'd go on...." started Randy. "Well, I am going bowling with Benjy and his friend Max today; I suppose you could come along if you wanted to." Sharona told him. "Bowling, hmmm, I think that is my worst sport ever and God wants me to embarrass myself in front of you yet again, but alright. I'm game." replied Randy. "Great! How 'bout I swing by and get you? In about 15 minutes?" she asked. "All right, I'll be waiting." He admitted. "Bye Randy." ended Sharona. "Bye." imitated Randy.

When Sharona pulled up to Randy's apartment shortly after, she wasn't quite prepared for the sight that met her eyes after she honked the horn. Randy came out wearing blue jeans, a white polo shirt, and loafers. It was odd because, "Usually Randy looks kind of...well, unfashionable." she said to herself. He even had a blue undershirt which made her notice his blue eyes more. "Hey Sharona, Benjy...Benjy's friend." he said. "Hi Randy, ready to get beat?" she teased him. He just smiled and told her, "It always seems to happen."

They then set off for the bowling alley where Sharona proceeded to beat Randy every single time. After bowling they stopped to drop Benjy and Max off at Max's house, where Benjy was spending the night. As they pulled up at Randy's house, he was surprised when Sharona parked and said, "I'll walk you up." They walked up to Randy's level in comfortable silence.

A/N: All right, there you go. The next chapter will be the scene at the front door. Please review!!!!


	3. Chapter 3: The Goodbye

Chapter 3: The Goodbye 

A/N: I was debating calling this chapter "The Front Door", but I wasn't quite sure where I was going to go with it. Thanks for those of you who reviewed.

As they neared Randy's door he was getting a little bit nervous because having her offer to walk with him was the last thing he had expected to happen. When they arrived at the door he was about to say something when Sharona told him, "I'm glad you came tonight, Randy." He smiled when he heard this and it helped him to lose his nervousness, which always seemed to make him embarrass himself in front of her. "I'm glad you let me come." he replied. He noticed she was almost stalling for time and wasn't quite looking him in the eye. When he noticed, he thought to himself, _"Wow! That's how I get whenever I see her around the office..."_ Coincidently, Sharona was thinking, _"Oh no, now I look like he does whenever he sees me."_

Randy then said, "Sharona, I was........" He was interrupted by Sharona rising to her tiptoes and kissing him. He was stunned for a moment, but then quickly started to kiss her back. After a long moment where both of them become tangled up they reluctantly pull apart. It's only then that they notice her hands in his hair and his around her waist holding her close to him. It's only then, after he catches his breath that he finishes his earlier sentence. "Sharona, I was wondering if you wanted to go out again sometime, on a real date." As he waited anxiously for an answer, she just kissed him again. "Is that a yes?" he asked. "Yes, that's a yes." she told him.

"Do you want to come in?" Randy asked. "I don't know..." she started. He bent down and kissed her again. That seemed to convince her, "Just for a few minutes." With that he found his keys and let them into the apartment. Sharona had never been to Randy's before. Monk's apartment of course, even the Captain's house, but never Randy's. As they entered he flipped the lights on and said, "Let me give you the grand tour." He led her around his apartment pointing out...living room, bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen. They ended the tour back in his living room, on the couch to be exact.

They were both nervous after their earlier encounter outside and were sitting almost as far away from each other as possible. Randy figured that she was thinking of a way to tell him it was a mistake and let him down easy and told her, "Look, Sharona, if you're rethinking earlier, that's...that's fine. I know you probably think it was a mistake." At this she was startled out of her thoughts and turned towards him. "Randy," she said, "I don't think it was a mistake. Do you want to know why I always make fun of you?" Randy looked thoughtful for a second and said, "Well I always figured you just didn't like me. But I don't think that's it, so sure."

Sharona sat there for a second before responding, but then she told him something that shocked him. "Randy," she said, "Over the years I think that I always thought you would be a perfect guy and I guess that scared me. So I tried to not think about it and started to tease you instead." Randy had a stunned look on his face by the time she was done talking. "I always wondered why there was sadness in your eyes when you teased me. I figured it was because you felt sorry for me or something like that." he said. "I'm sorry Randy, I just..." Sharona started, but didn't quite finish because Randy had taken a leaf out of her book and kissed her right in the middle of her sentence.

After a few minutes of kissing Sharona pulled back and said, "I should get going." Randy nodded and got up to walk her to the door. At the door Sharona turned to him gave him a quick kiss and said, "Goodnight Randy." He just smiled and said, "Sweet dreams." He them went to his window that overlooked the road and watched as she drove away.

A/N: All right guys, what do you think? I think next I'm going to try and get back into the case. Do you want to see more with Randy's older brother?


	4. Chapter 4: The Mystery

Chapter 4: The Mystery

A/N: Thanks monkaholic for the idea to have Randy's brother hit on Sharona, I'm going to use the brother, but keep in mind...he's wanted so he can't be out and the open and stuff. Now, on with they story. After this chapter I'm only going to get like 1 chapter a week out because school has started.

The next morning the Captain and Randy were talking about the jewelry heist. The fingerprint they found was that of Max Woodrow, a rich business man. The two then headed to the holding cells to question Steve. Upon arriving however, they found that he had been bailed out by an anonymous source. Both of them assumed that it was Max. Max owned the Robotix Company, a state of the art robotics company. When they got there however, they were disappointed to find that Max was out and were only able to talk to the vice president of Robotix, Alex Carr. He told them that Max had disappeared the previous day at around 10am. The robbery had occurred at 11am. After talking a few more minutes with Alex and finding out that he would be in all day tomorrow, they left.

Now neither of them was Monk, but it wasn't hard to notice that Alex seemed both a little too nervous and excited at hearing about the robbery and Max's fingerprint. They decided to call in Monk to consult with them on the case, even though yesterday he had told them it was a simple robbery. The next day everyone met at Robotix to talk to Max and Alex. After talking to Max and Alex, Monk told everyone, "It's Alex, I don't know how and I don't know why, but it's definitely Alex."

As they were leaving the building the Captain was talking with Monk about the case so Randy fell back to talk to Sharona. They started to talk, neither having any idea of the man carefully watching them form the shadows with a smile on his face. "So," Randy asked, "what are you doing Friday night?" She smiled and told him, "Well, there's this guy..." He looked confused for a second then seemed to catch on and asked her, "Do I know this guy?" "Actually, I think you do, better than you think," she said to him and winked. "Ah, so what are you two doing?" he asked her slyly, or so he thought. "Well, I don't know. Technically he hasn't asked me out yet. We're kind of unofficial," she told him with a smile. "I see, what if he asked you if you wanted to go see a movie with him?" he asked. "Well, I think it would have to be a chick flick. That's the way to see if a guy really likes you, if he'll watch movies with you that you know he doesn't want to see" she commented. At this Randy blushed a little and looked down. Then he asked her, "How about I pick you up at 7 o'clock?" He was a little bit surprised when she answered, "I'd like that Randy." Then after she looked around to make sure no one was watching, she grabbed him by his tie and pulled him in for a kiss.

Back at the station, everyone was brainstorming ideas on how and why it could be Alex. So far they had come up with a why, but not a how. It could be that Alex wants Max out of the picture to take over the company. But not one of them had an idea how he had done it. After hours thinking of the possibilities they finally took off. Again, there was a pair of eyes watching them, and eventually, following Randy home.

A/N: You know the drill, review it! Next chapter, I'll give you some background on Randy and his brother. But, be warned, it might be a little while.


	5. Chapter 5: The Explanation

Chapter 5: The Explanation

A/N: Sorry it took so long; school is a lot more work than I remember. In this chapter, you'll find out about Randy's brother. On another note, where I'm going with that fingerprint thing, I kind of stole from The Bourne Supremacy, so please don't sue me! Also, I upped the rating, there are a few curses and a little bit of fighting. Not major stuff, but better safe than sorry.

It was Friday morning at the station and the Captain and Randy were once again talking about the case. Even with Monk, it still seemed impossible. As they were talking the phone next to them rang and out of habit Randy reached over and answered it, "Disher," he said emotionless. "Well if that's how you're going to be I'll just hang up," he heard Sharona say. This caused him to smile. "I'm sorry. Please don't hang up," he told her. "All right, but only because this was important. Instead of going out tonight, could we stay in and watch a movie on TV?" she asked him. "Sure, that's fine. What did you want to watch?" he asked her questioningly.

"'Runaway Bride' is on and 'You've Got Mail' is on right after it," she answered excitedly. At the station, the Captain noticed that Randy paled a bit at whatever the person on the other line had said. "Randy," he said, "You okay?" Randy was startled out of his reverie at that, "Oh, yeah. I'm fine," he said. Then he said to Sharona, "That would be great honey," he pronounced slowly. "Whose house and what time?" he asked. "Come to my house a little before 7," she replied. "All right, I'll see you tonight," he told her. As he hung up, the Captain looked at him questioningly, "Honey?" he asked. "Uh, yeah," Randy replied, "That was my girlfriend." The Captain looked at him for a second before going back to his work.

Later that night at Sharona's house, they were just settling in to watch the first movie when all of a sudden there was a big flash of lightning, a boom, and the power went out. Sharona quickly found candles and a flashlight and came back into the living room where Randy was sitting on the couch. "Well," she said, "I guess we won't be watching any movies tonight." He smiled and told her, "That's alright. I wasn't really too excited about the movies anyway." She smiled at him and after she lit the candles moved up on the couch to sit with him. As she sat down he shyly put his arm around her and smiled to himself when she leaned into him.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Sharona asked, "So what do you want to do?" "I'm fine just doing this, did you have any ideas?" he replied. "I don't know, we could play cards," she half told him, half asked him. "Cards is fine by me, do you think you can find them?" he asked her. "I in fact, happen to know exactly where they are...me and Benjy played cards yesterday." She admitted sheepishly. "That's nice, do you know where anything else is?" he asked her jokingly. "Actually, now that you mention it...no," she told him in a serious manner that made them both start to laugh. As Sharona finally found the cards and started to shuffle, she asked Randy, "What do you want to play for?" Randy looked thoughtful for a second before asking, "What are we playing?" Now it was Sharona's turn to look puzzled, then she questioned, "Gin Rummy?" "All right," Randy said, "But it's your house, you can pick what you want to play for." Sharona seemed to get an evil gleam in her eye at his words. She could see Randy visibly gulp when he saw the look. Then she threw him a curveball and told him, "We'll play for the remote if the power ever comes back on." She could see him let out the breath was holding. "All right, you're on," he told her.

As the game progressed Sharona asked Randy a question that had been bugging her since the day at the jewelers. "Randy," she started, "I don't want to pry, but I was wondering," she was cut off by him. "About my brother," he finished for her. "I don't like to talk about him, that's why none of you had heard of him before the other day," he told her. "Okay," she said, "forget I asked." After a minute, he told her quietly, "No, wait. I'll tell you about him." He was silent for a few minutes, apparently arranging his thoughts or something of the sort.

Finally he started to speak, "I told you that Steve is 3 years older than me, right?" Sharona nodded and said, "Yes." Randy started again, "I guess that's kind of the root of everything. **(–A/N: I know Randy's mom was in an episode, but I don't remember anything being said about his childhood, so go with me on this one—)** Once I was born my dad started to hang around less and less. Then, when I was, I think 5, he left. I think Steve always blamed me for that, and to tell you the truth I don't really blame him. About 4 years later, my Mom got remarried. Steve was 12, and I was 9. The guy my Mom got married to was a real jerk, Jack. He never touched me because my Mom was always watching me since I was younger. Steve wasn't so lucky though, the guy used to hit him when mom wasn't home for kicks. He tried to tell Mom about it but she didn't believe him. I tried to tell her the truth, but she would always interrupt me and tell me about how it couldn't possibly be true. That always made me feel guilty, since she seemed so happy with him, and I wouldn't say anything. When Steve turned 18, my Mom let him have a birthday party. It was a great day, all of Steve's friends came over, and he even let me stay and hang out with them. He was so happy; I think he forgot completely about Jack, who wasn't there. Mom went out with her friends to play bingo that night. Jack got home a few minutes after she left and he was really drunk. I remember it like it was yesterday. Me and Steve were playing cards in the living room because Mom said he had to wait until Jack got home to leave. Jack came stumbling into the living room and I just knew something was going to happen. He looked alright for a second, but then he just got this look on his face like someone just punched him in the face. He was pissed off. Steve turned to me and told me to go up to my room, but he wasn't quick enough. Just as he was finished talking, Jack punched him right in the gut. It was different this time though. Usually, Steve would take a punch or two then run away and hide because he didn't want to get in trouble. This time, in stead of running, he took Jack on. The next swing he tried to take, Steve dodged it and punched him right in the face. After Jack fell over, Steve started to kick him in the ribs. After Jack had stopped fighting him, Steve left. He didn't say a word, he just left. I remember being so scared, I ran to my room and locked the door. When Mom got home I heard some yelling so I went to see what was going on. Jack told her that Steve beat him up for no reason then left. I told my Mom it was bullshit and that Jack had come home drunk and started hitting Steve, but he had already called the police. By the time the cops got to the house, Jack was sobered up and told them his side of the story. I told them what really happened, but they took his word over mine, and my Mom wasn't there so she couldn't stick up for him. They tracked Steve down and put him in jail. After he got out, he got together with some old friends of his and they decided to rob a bank. It was too bad they didn't hide their faces and a camera caught them. He's been in jail ever since then; I didn't even know he had gotten out." Randy finally finished his story. Sharona didn't say anything as he finished, she just walked over to him and sat down beside him. He looked very tired as he leaned on her, silently thanking her for her silence.

After he finished, the power came back on. They had been playing cards throughout the time he was talking and Randy had won, so he now had control of the remote. "What channel were those movies on?" he asked. "You didn't sound very excited to watch them earlier," Sharona told him. "Yeah," he answered, "but you seemed real excited about them." With those words Sharona changed the channel and sat down beside Randy on the couch. After the second movie ended (they had missed the first one), Randy noticed Sharona had fallen asleep and was now lying with her head in his lap. He carefully picked her up and carried her upstairs. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead, and just as he was about to say, "Sweet dreams." she grabbed his arm. "Stay with me," she told him. With those words, Randy crawled in behind her and they both quickly fell asleep.

A/N: All right, there's chapter 5. You know the drill...tell me what you think!


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